Fresh off the chaos of Linnea’s deadlock elimination (and a straightforward Alexis boot nobody found compelling), Lewis and Kilby pulled off a miracle with Maggie’s extra votes, and Kilby has proven himself as a player with balls of steel.
But Kilby’s figurative balls have only pissed off an emotional Eric who saw him as a genuine ally and real friend… until he took out one of his number ones in a massive betrayal and made himself out to be the biggest snake in the game. Does Kilby care? Not really. It’s a game, and he can get over it. He’s not giving up on Eric as an ally so easily, though, and he’s here to play risky and make good TV, and that move was both of the above.
The move has also cemented Kilby and Lewis as allies, but a ticked-off majority still outnumbers them unless they can find a crack or get a couple more extra votes by chance. But it’s hard to find a crack with Eric, who’s still crying about being outplayed by a couple “rats” he can’t have in his game. Sharonda calls it like it is, though: Eric is an emotional mess, and he’ll go wherever he’s pandered to the most. Cristian, however, sees a future without Savu, fearing the minority of his old tribe will be picked off at the merge by a Toka majority. So letting his chaotic side out, Cristian gets in good with Lewis just in case “Savu Strong” sinks like a rock.
Meanwhile, the three-person Savu tribe is in full disaster mode (when they aren’t having a Survivor fashion show), but they’re three strong and dedicated to making the final three… assuming they don’t just lose again and have to make a tough call. Jelly would be the swing vote though, picking between her Toka ally and her Savu crush.
Over on Toka, Kristin and Mike know they’re in danger and openly discuss the situation as they scout for idols together. Mike is losing faith in the Bradys and Carters of the world. The other Tokas have started writing him off as a selfish, closed-book player who isn’t in it for the team, so Brady has yet another enemy to complain about on this beach. But Mike has his own side of the story: Brady is a controlling camp dictator who hounds everyone for information and fact-checks everything they say, so why not work with Kristin and flip to Savu? Mike promises her if she can help him survive now, he’ll vote however she asks later. Like the rest of the cast, Kristin doesn’t care about Mike at all because of his weak social game, but she’s not stupid enough to say no to this deal.
Treemail arrives to summon three players for a Journey… I mean a Summit. Is that what we’re calling it now to distance the show from the New Era? Okay then. Cristian rigs Dina’s random draw to send Sharonda and give himself more time with the Toka bros; Ori goes from Savu, and despite his best attempt to go from Toka, Mike is outvoted in favor of Kristin. So it’s a Savu Homecoming on this Summit, and Sharonda spills everything about Maggie’s move to the others. But the real story of this Summit is the twist: two players will take home a feast of ribs and corn, and the third will remain on Exile Island and earn a special “tethered” idol that can only be played on the two food-takers.
Sharonda convinces Kristin to stay on Exile, and Kristin has no issues with that. She’s got an idol for her allies who won’t turn on her as long as she can save them, and she can survive alone no problem with her survival knowledge, so it’s a perfect situation. But there’s another twist: if Sharonda and Ori both go home, the idol becomes fully powered and can be played on anyone, including Kristin herself. For a day one fan who applied for 25 years, this is the full experience, and she couldn’t be happier to be living the dream as we get a gorgeous winner-coded shot of her staring into the sunset.
While Ori is away, Jelly and Devin bond further on Savu. Despite their game issues, they’re having fun and making great memories for life… until Devin tries pushing the Jelly/Ori showmance angle again. Awkward, but okay then. Jokes aside, though, Devin has also realized he needs to separate himself from Jelly, just as she knows she has to separate from him. If they go into the merge as a tight duo, they’ll get targeted hard and fast, and they can’t play each other’s game forever. But they can make tough decisions later, because Ori returns with a feast and tells them everything (except the whole idol situation), so this trio is set for the long run.
Meanwhile, Sharonda tells Dina the same information (again, without mentioning the idol), but Kilby and Lewis find it a little too sus. Meals aren’t free on Survivor, Exile usually comes with power, and Sharonda is always playing with cards close to her chest, so she can’t be trusted. And then on Toka, the bros build a swing out of vines, with crafty Carter in charge of the construction, but Maggie isn’t interested in any funny business. She’s ready for the merge and here to win, and winning involving catching fish to keep the tribe strong instead of wasting energy. With the tribe’s hammock? Not the best idea. Almost breaking Thien An’s neck trying to find bananas? Also not a great idea. And as always, everything about Maggie is just getting on Brady’s nerves and putting her in his firing line. So if Mike and Kristin needed a crack to exploit, there it is!
But all this potential Toka tribal hype is for nothing when disaster tribe Savu flops in yet another immunity challenge, dooming the Helicopter Alliance to lose another member and turn this trio into a duo. So what now? Does Jelly turn on Devin? Does Devin turn on Jelly? Do they stick together and send Ori home? With a tribe this small, options are limited, and nobody wants to think about the vote, however difficult it’s bound to be between three lockstep friends. Devin even suggests everyone should play their Shots in the Dark and see what happens, be it rocks, a revote, or a challenge, but Jelly can’t let herself do that with an idol in her pocket. She’s not going anywhere, and she makes that quite clear.
And when pressed to explain her plan, she says she’s putting Ori’s name down, forcing him to find an idol, get lucky with his Shot in the Dark, or find a miracle crack. His pitch to Jelly isn’t half bad. If she takes Devin to the merge, she’s screwing herself over. He’ll overshadow her moves if they get to the end, and if he sinks his game early, she’ll probably go down with him. With Jelly not budging, Ori hits up Devin and pitches a Jelly boot to separate himself from her, hoping to call an idol bluff if she doesn’t play the thing. The pitch gets Devin thinking selfishly. If Jelly does feel safe, he could make a crazy play and blindside her for the spectacle of it. But can he really make that move to betray his day one ally without abandoning his heart and soul in the process?
The answer is no; he cannot, and Ori is voted out after his Shot in the Dark fails, exiting with nothing but love from his allies, who have to enter a 13-person merge as a clear duo with enemies around every corner and few allies. Rough roads ahead, but a lot of game left to play.
With Savu down in numbers and some abandoning the sinking Savu ship, this is set to be a Toka-dominated game. Still, with so many colorful characters at odds in the clear majority, Savu could find cracks and spark a Toka civil war. With two full idols in Jelly and Carter’s pockets, Kristin’s idol protecting Sharonda, or even giving Kristin incentive to blindside her, and Devin’s extra vote, both sides have ammo heading into this war.
The swap may have taken the wind out of the season’s sails for some, but a couple of predictable votes does not a boring season make. And given most of the preview for this merge was Brady going nuts and plans flying everywhere on a big tribe, I think the hype of those early episodes is coming back with a boom.
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